Den loddegesii

[cb977]

This is an awesome plant, rambling all over the 12" tree fern plaque it's on but has only given me 4 buds this year. It's a 100% improvement from last year when I only got 2

[Shirley]

That is so pretty, Susanne, and it must like what you're doing! That was one of my votes for the project plant.

[Junebug]

Originally Posted by cb977

This is an awesome plant, rambling all over the 12" tree fern plaque it's on but has only given me 4 buds this year. It's a 100% improvement from last year when I only got 2

Susanne,

Your Loddigesii is lovely. I've got a variety of this plant (lost tag) that I've had for about 8 years. It was gorgeous at the time of purchase but at the time I knew nothing of it's cultural requirements. I darn near killed it during the first month. Each year it has managed to hang on. Last year it had 4 healthy stems with frail kikis. I was afraid to remove them from the momma plant so I wrapped the stems in a loose circle and planted it in a wood slat basket with sphag and charcoal. It grew pretty well last year, but failed to bloom this spring. I'm ready to mount it this year. I have a tree fern basket, a cork mount and piece of grape wood. Which method would work best?

I also purchased some Aliflor for other plants. Is it always necessary to have an (underneath the plant)water source when using Aliflor and can you use orchid fertilizers instead of nutrient solutions?

Thank you for your help.

June

[isurus79]

Man, I love these guys!! I hope mine bloom this year. Could we see a picture of the whole thing? I would love to see a 12 foot plaque covered with any orchid!

[camille1585]

Really nice! I like the hairy lip. And 4 blooms is still better than none I'd say

[cb977]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Man, I love these guys!! I hope mine bloom this year. Could we see a picture of the whole thing? I would love to see a 12 foot plaque covered with any orchid!

Hi Steve

Here's a pic of the whole plant. I've been wondering why I'm not getting as many blooms as I know this baby has the potential for. The four blooms/bud are all along the right side of the plant. The way the plant has been positioned had that portion a bit out of the brighter light...do you think that slight raise in light intensity on the area not blooming could be holding back the rest of the plant?

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by cb977

Hi Steve

Here's a pic of the whole plant. I've been wondering why I'm not getting as many blooms as I know this baby has the potential for. The four blooms/bud are all along the right side of the plant. The way the plant has been positioned had that portion a bit out of the brighter light...do you think that slight raise in light intensity on the area not blooming could be holding back the rest of the plant?

Hmmmm.... I dunno . Unfortunately, I havn't had all that much luck with this Dendro! Off the top of my head, I would say that no, the brightness factor would not make a difference, but then again, there it is!! I wonder if the darker side retains more moisture or if the plant actually prefers darker conditions? I think if it prefered darker conditions then you would not have as much growth on the bright side. I also understand these guys like a pretty dry winter in order to bloom properly (like anosmum). Has yours started to grow yet? Mine has begun a pretty intense flush of growth and I wonder if might not get flowers this year (ie. the plant putting its energy into growth rather than flowers!). After the flowers have faded, maybe you should try some wet/dry or bright/dark experiments to see if you can improve next year's flower count.